Oct 31, 2008

“Travancore palace” is a unique restaurant in Cherthala ( also Sherthallay) in Alleppey, Kerala situated on NH 47 from Alleppey to Cherthala.

Pathayam

Naazhi, Petti, Idangazhi and Para ( antique measures )

Chaarupadi

View of Hotel room

It is unique in the sense that it is a relocated “Nalukettu” style of traditional building in Kerala architecture. Exactly replicated with all the accessories of Nalukettu – the “Charupady” – the bench, a big “Patthayam” – the grain storage in traditional homes, big “Uruli” – the big vessel , “ Vilakku” – the traditional ceremonial lamp, “ Marakkuda” – the traditional umbrella made of palm leaves, “Shararanthal’’ – the traditional lights. The entire building with its solid wooden pillars gives a nostalgic experience of traditional architecture.

Marakkuda

Carving on the wooden pillar

Chaarupadi & Athangudi tile flooring

Another view of Pathayam

Sararanthal

This restaurant belongs to VellappalliNatesan the General Secretary of SNDPYogam ( a social reformist organization in Kerala) – who also a highly successful business magnate .

Cheena Bharani

This restaurant – with its premium ambiance - is moderately priced. There is ample car park space. The sitting arrangement is very spaced out and uncluttered. The service was very prompt and courteous. It also provides excellent Kerala non-veg meals during lunch hours.

AryaNivas is very close to Thiruvananthapuram central railway station and it's convenient for a short city visit or a stop over. It's reasonably priced when compared to the other hotels around and well located. A vegetarian restaurant also attached to this hotel and we had a delicious breakfast.

Oct 30, 2008

The houseboats in Kerala, south India, are huge, slow-moving, exotic barges used for leisure trips. They are a reworked model of Kettuvallams (in the Malayalam language, Kettu means "tied with ropes", and vallam means "boat"), which, in earlier times, were used to carry rice and spices from Kuttanad to the Kochi port. Kerala houseboats were considered a convenient means of transportation.

The popularity of Kettuvalloms has returned in the function as major tourist attractions.

Such a houseboat is about 60 to 70 feet (about 18 to 21 meters) long and about 15 feet (about 5 m) wide at the middle. The hull is made of wooden planks that are held together by ropes of coconut fiber; the usual wood is 'Anjili'. The roof is made of bamboo poles and palm leaves. The exterior of the boat is painted with protective coats of cashew nut oil.

Govt passenger boat

The tourism industry in and around the scenic town of Alleppey ( which includes the famous Kumarakom Lagoon and Kuttanad - the largest paddy fields in the world below sea level ); was revolutionized with the advent of House boats. Originally, these house boats were meant for transportation of goods between various towns in southern Kerala.

Alleppey ( or the more politically correct Alapuzha) is known as the Venice of the East due to its well connected (but unfortunately weed infested) water ways. Its vast expanse of greenery and the broad waterways makes it ideal for a vacation spot. Even though a house boat trip is quite expensive by Indian standards, the Western nationals find it much cheaper.

Personally I found the trip very enjoyable and refreshing - Worth the money paid. I testify that I will go again if an opportunity comes.

A typical house boat journey starts from the Punnamada jetty on the banks of PunnamadaKayal ( Back waters). Depending upon one’s need; one can hire a boat ( 1,2 or 3 bedrooms or conference halls) and also for the number of days ( one day ie 6 hrs, two days ie overnight or even for a week). Depending on the size and facility the cost also varies ( for a 6 hr trip we paid around INR.5500/ just for the 1 bed room boat and the special cuisine of 3 non-veg dishes including sea food. The boat has got aTV, double bed ( aircon) and a washroom.

Punnamada Jetty itself is a great view – as one can see unending rows of house boats of different decoration, size and capacity. The boat rides start around 11.00 am. Moving away from the crowded marina, the boat cruises leisurely to the broader back waters. The cool breeze and the greenery is really soothing. Slowly the boat wades its way to Kuttanad ( known as the rice bowl of Kerala)– the place with coconut tree lined paddy fields. One will wonder how the paddy is cultivated in the fields which are much below the water level - yes it is really wonderful. One can see the government transport boats picking up and dropping people at the boat stops at different island blocks in Kuttanad ( just like we move around in city thru city service buses); as boats are the only means of transportation to most of them.

The boat crew typically consists of a guide, boat driver ( the pilot or captain) and a chef.

A brief stop over at the toddy shop( coconut beer) is an opportunity for the adventurous to taste the heady stuff. One can alight there and taste the cuisine – typically sea food( kanava, varaal and konju) preparation – cooked to order. The friendly boat crew made things easy for us.Around 1.30pm is the lunch. The boat was parked and tied down in one of the island blocks. We all had a sumptuous Kerala meal with boiled rice, chicken curry, prawns fry, Karemeen fry, morukachiyathu, pappadam etc.

Again the boat started moving thru various canals. We had a light refreshment of piping hot coffee and pazhampori ( banana flitters – fried in the quintessential coconut oil) at 4 pm.As all good things ends, this boat journey also ended around 5 .30 pm.

Carrying all the good memories, we alighted at the Punnamada jetty.

Nearest airport - Cochin- ( 1 hour 30 minutes from the airport to Alleppey )By train - get down at Alleppey railway stationYou may also contact Damodar Tour for house boat ( A single bed room houseboat isideal for a family of 4 - 6 )